Team News

2017 Hall of Fame Inductee: Julius Nwosu

Former Liberty men's basketball standout, Julius Nwosu, was one of five new member that will be inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in September. Nick Pierce caught up with the former Flame to talk about receiving the prestigious honor.

Nwosu did not start playing organized basketball until the year before he joined Liberty's roster. However, those around the Big South Conference would never have known, as he finished his career as one of the premier centers during the early years of the conference.

Nwosu sat out his first year at Liberty to gain academic eligibility, but still managed to become the 14th 1,000-point scorer in school history in three seasons (1,248 career points). The two-time All-Big South honoree ranked among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior and was second in the conference as a senior in field goal percentage (61.5 percent). He also finished his career with 112 blocked shots.

With the help of Nwosu's development, Liberty finished its first season in the Big South with a 22-7 overall record in 1991-92. The mark was a 16 1/2 game win-loss improvement from the previous season, which still ranks as the fourth best in NCAA history.

Nwosu became the first player in program history to earn a spot on a NBA roster, playing for the San Antonio Spurs (1995), Boston Celtics (1997) and the Utah Jazz (2000). The native of Owerri, Nigeria, also played professionally in Spain, Russia, Greece, Turkey, Japan and France for eight seasons, helping his teams win three conference titles.